It's a Small World

The Beatles released their culture-shattering debut album, Please Please Me, in March 1963. A year and a half later, as the British Invasion was starting to take hold, an American folk-rock duo named Simon & Garfunkel released their first LP, the largely overlooked Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. In many ways, through the rest of the decade, these two bands were kindred spirits—prioritizing harmonic cleverness and lyrical depth, evolving to experiment more in the studio. They even collapsed at essentially the same time: Simon & Garfunkel released their final studio project, Bridge Over Troubled Water, in January 1970; four months later, The Beatles bid farewell with Let It Be.

Of course, all of their respective songwriters continued with solo careers, and it only felt natural that they’d collaborate in some way. That summit took place on November 20, 1976, during the eighth episode of Saturday Night Live’s second season. Paul Simon was pulling double duty that evening, hosting the show and serving as musical guest—but George Harrison also served as a second musical guest, appearing in two promo videos and duetting with Simon on two tunes, Simon & Garfunkel’s 1966 classic "Homeward Bound" and his own 1969 Beatles anthem "Here Comes the Sun."